Just the Lights
by Queen Mist
Summary: She was a model. He was her photographer. And she loved him.


SUMMARY: She was a model. He was her photographer. And she loved him.

a/n: this is my first time to do this... since I've always been doing KK stuff... but I hope you like it... I've actually been thinking of this story for a long time and I've finally mustered the courage to put my thoughts into words... oh well! have fun!

Disclaimer: Any character of Rurouni Kenshin isn't mine.

----

Yumi didn't know when it all started. Maybe it was a spontaneous thing or something, but she had a feeling it was more profound than that. After all, there's no such thing as love at first sight, or so she thought. But that wasn't the case. Because all her problems stemmed from one thing- or rather, one person. She was losing lots of sleepless nights, which was never a good thing, since she was a full-time model and rest was very much appreciated. She gazed sullenly at her reflection. Her lips were twisted in an almost sardonic smile; her hair was set in a perfect bun, a few locks of her hair curving her face; her eyes were covered in dark eye shadow. She raised an eyebrow at her appearance. She looked like some sort of Mob queen or something. Nevertheless, she was drop-dead gorgeous. A rather unbidden thought crossed her mind. _'Would HE think of me like that?'_ Shaking the thoughts away (they will do her no good, since she'll be meeting him a few minutes later), she flipped her compact closed and started the engine. Beauty queen as she may be, she loved to feel the wind rushing through her ears while driving. It made her feel strangely... exhilarated.

_'Like when I'm looking at him.'_ She clutched the wheel tightly and drove away quickly. There will be no time for that. Ever.

---

"Ok, that's a wrap! Everyone, good work!"

Yumi coolly flipped her hair long dark hair over her shoulder, ignoring the dark gazes she received from some of her co-workers. Taking her coat from the coat rack, she was about to walk away when-

"Komagata-san!"

She blinked, and then allowed a small smile to grace her lips before turning. "Aa... Soujiro."

The brilliant young photographer smiled widely at her, holding up two mugs of steaming coffee. "I'm sure you're tired, Komagata-san... you want some?"

She shrugged delicately in response, but she took a cup from his hands, their fingers brushing slightly. After they had sat done in one of the studio's lounges, she raised an eyebrow at him. "Sou, I told you to call me Yumi, ne? Komagata, added with an honorific, makes me feel so old..."

His smile turned sheepish. "I guess I just got used to it..."

She shook her head, and for a while, they just sipped their coffees in comfortable silence. "Hmm... this tastes wonderful... did you make it?"

"Hai. I'm glad you like it." She nodded. "By the way... you were wonderful, Komagata-san. Your shots were absolutely breathtaking."

She ignored the sudden rush of pleasure. Instead, she smiled knowingly at him. "Really? You are terribly humble, Soujiro. I think it had to do more with the photographer."

He laughed, leaning forward with a playful glint in his eyes. "Maa... I wouldn't have done it without a beautiful model then..."

She felt the heat rushing up her cheeks, but she hopefully managed to will most of the redness away. She merely took a sip from her cup, shooting him a light glare. "You... are teasing me." He raised both of his hands calmly, although he was still too near for her comfort. She swore she could see dark blue specks in his eyes. She took a delicate sip again before leaning back to put more distance between them.

"Komaga-"

"Yumi."

He blinked. "What?"

"My name... is Yumi."

He smiled again. "Hai. Yumi-san-" She rolled her eyes. "What? I called you by your given name right?" She ignored him, making him laugh. "Yumi-san, I just wanted to tell you. I'm afraid I'll be gone for a few days... there's this seminar that I need to go too and..." he trailed off, looking away.

She felt a lump form in her throat, but she swallowed everything away. It wouldn't do for the man of her dreams to see her acting like some love struck teenager. "Why-" she coughed. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Um..." He scratched his head awkwardly. "I guess I just wanted you to know... since I'm the one taking your pictures and all."

She lowered her head to hide her smile. "Oh. I see. I won't be surprised then. When will you be back?"

"As soon as possible." was his quick reply.

She nodded curtly, put down her cup, and rose elegantly, smiling coolly at him. "I need to go, Soujiro. I-" She stopped short when she saw him holding her coat, staring patiently at her. When she realized what he wanted to do, she blinked. "I... I can put my coat on myself, but thank you."

He shook his head, grinning impishly. She told herself she was NOT swooning. She was NOT swooning. She was- oh god, his smile was gorgeous. "Daijobu, Yumi-san. It's not a bother." She almost- ALMOST being the keyword- melted when he neared her, putting the coat on her shoulders that they were almost in an embrace.

He was still a tad bit taller than her even when she was in heels. Fleetingly, she wondered how he had grown so fast, since she KNEW he was inches shorter than her some time in the past.

He smiled, and his hands remained on her shoulders, so she was still rendered speechless by his nearness, his eyes bluer than ever. "You take care while I'm away, Yumi-san. I'd hate it if you were hurt while I'm gone."

She raised an eyebrow at that and finally managed to make her vocal chords work relatively normal again. "Of course, unless the world will suddenly be attacked by aliens." She had meant it to be sarcastic and infinitely aloof, but she was surprised when it all came out playful.

He chuckled, dropping a friendly kiss on her cheek and letting his hands fall casually to his sides. Ignoring her dazed look, he gently brushed a lock of hair away from her face. "Of course."

---

Three days later

Yumi tiredly settled down on her couch in her first-class suite. Her temporary photographer was madness personified. He tired her out; he made her do weird poses; he looked at her like she was some sort of meat. If Soujiro didn't recommend him, she would have kicked the man. Speaking of which, where was Soujiro? For the last two days, he has been keeping in touch with her- sending her messages, e-mails, and much better, talking with her on the phone. She cursed her silly heart for falling more in love with the innocent guy. This was supposed to be a closed issue, remember? But NOOOO... he just had to do something sweet, like that coat incident. She sighed, in irritation or in glee she didn't know. She was about to doze when the lock of her front door suddenly clicked. She sat up... and glared at the man on the other side of the room. A few months ago, she would have simply melted at the sight of him, even with all the bandages, but right now, the sight of him only made her want to vomit.

"Yumi."

"What do you want?" she asked in a cold voice.

His lips quirked up in an arrogant smirk as he began advancing forward. "What else? I have come to take you back of course. I felt that the time I gave you was enough."

She felt her anger slowly coming to the surface but she willed it all down. It wouldn't do to lose her cool in front of her ex-boyfriend. He was as immovable as a rock, and he would only laugh at her if she became angry. "Excuse me?" She laughed haughtily. "Enough? That's crap, Shishio."

The smile dropped from his lips, and she was pleasantly surprised to see him furious. A rather vicious smirk tugged at her lips. "Don't play with me, Yumi. I hate your games."

"Really? Forgive me then. I thought you liked to play nice." The implications were perfectly clear.

He snarled, moving forward until they were face to face. She looked up to his red eyes impassively. "You are mine. You will never leave me. You will come back to me." Before, she would have given anything to see that livid look in his eyes but she was simply wary of it now.

The cool mask slipped from her features. Was she angry? Hell yeah! She was downright incensed. "I don't give a damn what you say but-" She wasn't even able to scream when he suddenly grabbed her and crushed her lips to his. Instead of fighting- she knew she was no match for him, she remained immovable, her lips closed tightly even as his tongue probed entrance to her mouth. When he released her, she smiled mockingly at him before spitting at his face. Her only warning was the glint in his eyes before she felt herself pinned to her couch, his hands creeping under her camisole top, his lips savagely pressed to her own. Her eyes widened and she tried to scream. However, this only resulted to his tongue entering her mouth. Yumi wanted to wretch. She thrashed against him as tears slowly came to her eyes. This was not happening to her. This shouldn't be happening to her. Her body grew tired with fighting against him, but she refused to back down. She will never let Shishio take her like this. She blinked back more tears when she felt his hands brushing against the soft skin of her chest. She writhed desperately against him and almost started to lose hope until she felt Shishio bodily thrown off of her. She gasped in relief mixed with terror, her hands clutching her tattered top to her chest.

Shishio cursed from where he was thrown away from her, glaring at her savior. Yumi was still too terrified as she curled herself into a ball. To her disgust, she could still feel the marks left by Shishio's dirty hands on her body. "Who the hell are you!" Shishio bit out, standing up quickly.

"That is not important. I strongly suggest you leave Komagata-san, or else I will be forced to kill you for the dishonor you have done to her." The voice felt strangely familiar, and the hard tone was comforting.

"This is not your business, fool! Get out!"

"It would be wise if you leave Shishio." a voice joined in.

"Battousai!" Shishio hissed.

"Leave."

She felt the glare Shishio shot her way, and she trembled, not finding it in herself to look straight at him. "This is not over, Yumi."

The last intruder snorted. She heard the door close. She almost sighed in relief until hands rested on her shoulders. She screamed. "Get off me!"

The man holding her tightened his grip and she found herself dropped on the stranger's lap, two arms wrapped firmly around her. "Yumi-san, please calm down." a soothing voice whispered into her ear.

She stared at concerned blue eyes in a mixture of love, relief, and anguish. "S-soujiro!" She wrapped her arms around him, burying her face desperately in her chest. "Oh god..."

He smiled gently, stroking her hair. "It's all right now, Yumi-san. He's gone, and he won't be bothering you anymore. I promise."

"Really?"

"Hai. Though I don't have the power to really keep him away from you, some of my friends have. Himura-san will take care of it." he reassured her. The name Himura faintly registered on her mind, but she ignored it, concentrating instead on his heady masculine scent and on how she could control her hiccups. He lifted her in his arms then laid her on her bed. "Would you like to change clothes, Yumi-san?" She nodded feebly. Still smiling that gentle smile, he went to her closet and took a simple white shirt. He handed her the piece of cloth and turned away from her as she dressed. When she was finished, he sat back down beside her and she cuddled next to him. "Would you like anything else, Yumi-san?"

She turned dark eyes into him. "Stay... please?" His heart almost broke at the scared look in her eyes, and he gave her his best comforting smile.

"Of course I will."

She wrapped both arms around his waist as he watched her sleep. It was hours later, after staring at her, that his eyes also closed. He stayed with her the whole night.

---

"That was wonderful, Yumi-san." Soujiro commented, smiling. Yumi nodded, managing a weak smile. She was preparing for her next pose when he suddenly approached her, an arm looping around her waist. She squeaked in surprise.

"W-what?"

He turned apologetic eyes at her. "Maa... I'm sorry, Yumi-san, if I fail to tell you this. My friend has insisted we take a decent shoot together and I can't really say no..."

She swallowed nervously as he pulled her closer. "Oh." After the incident a week ago, she was undeniably more nervous around him. Her heart pounded so loudly she was afraid he would hear it. She almost screamed when he angled her face so that they were almost kissing.

"Aa... I'm sorry about this too but I'm afraid this was rather necessary..." he said, flushing slightly. "I normally don't do this to my models but..." She heard something suspiciously like 'Himura-san will pay for this.'

"It's fine." As soon as her body had relaxed, there were flashes of light.

Half an hour later, she swore she had placed her hands all over Soujiro's body, added to the fact that all their shots involved the both of them and... only them. She honestly thought the only words on the list were 'Soujiro' and 'Yumi.' She had been so pressed against him even an atom couldn't breathe. This friend of his was probably some sort of sadist.

He smiled ruefully at her. "Thank you for cooperating with me, Yumi-san." And he was walking away.

At that moment, she felt all her bottled emotions surface. Without a thought, she grabbed his hand, turned him around, and launched herself into his arms, her lips capturing his. For a second, he stood stock-still, and she feared he hated her, until he had tilted his head, a hand resting on her hip. She was stunned when he kissed her back so passionately, but who was she to complain? When they parted, his eyes were dark with emotion, an extremely satisfied and boyish smirk gracing his lips. "Hey."

She almost fainted. God, his voice sounded so sexy...

"Yumi."

She smiled widely at him. "Took you long enough." she muttered before kissing him again.

At that point, Yumi didn't care where it all started. This was enough.

----

a/n: um... this was supposed to be a side story for my KK fics (there's Kenshin there, see)... but I got tired of writing and posting everything... so I hope this'll do. anyway, I think the both of them are a lil' OOC here, but who cares? in this fic, in case you wanna know, yumi is NOT older than sou. they're more in the 1-2 year gap... so I hoped you like this... please review. thanks.


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